Mathy pop-rock
“The Spotless Mind” is a solid record of pop-rock with a mathy twist in the tail: lots of tapping and interesting chord combinations bring to mind Minus The Bear, Portland (US) four piece Icarus The Owl are a touch heavier though and they really have the melodies sorted; anthemic and uplifting choruses and great vocals make them very easy on the ear but not too soft to put off fans of early era Thrice for example.
The album opens with ‘Running From Lacuna’ a very poppy tune (the melody and vocals bring to mind Fall Out Boy at times) but overlaid with fantastic guitars which propel it far from standard pop-rock territory. ‘The Extortionist’ soars and can rock quite hard ��" full on drumming and some snippets of heavier guitar make it stand out; ‘The Man Who Cried Wolf’ has an expansive feel and builds towards a crescendo of fuzzy guitars and emotional vocals; ‘Disposable Company Makes A Lonely Man’ is another cracking track, a super catchy tune backed by complex riffs, the album is full of tracks like this but doesn’t get samey; there is always something interesting going on in the background and an endless supply of quirky guitar work.
“The Spotless Mind” is an enjoyable record, tuneful, great to sing along to and rock out to and technically skilled enough that you don’t feel guilty jumping around to the poppy bits. I.T.O. take a number of sounds and try them out to great effect; screamy and metal riffed (‘Invertebrate’), fun and full on pop-rock (‘Game Of Jenga’), jagged quirk rock (‘Igloo’) and a combination of all these in most tracks makes for a satisfying and cohesive mix.